Analysis

The Pediatric Symptom Checklist is used to detect psychological and emotional problems in children and adolescents. The PSC-35 is a shortened version of the original PSC, designed to provide a quick assessment of children’s mental health, with the goal of early identification of potential issues.

Objective

The primary goal of the PSC-35 is to detect and assess emotional and psychological problems that may affect a child’s daily functioning and well-being. The tool focuses on identifying concerning symptoms that may require further evaluation or intervention.

Scoring

The PSC-35 includes 35 questions that assess various aspects of mental and emotional health. The questions are rated on a Likert scale, usually from 0 to 2 (“never,” “sometimes,” “often”). Total scores are calculated by summing the ratings for each question.

References

Jellinek, M. S., et al. (1988). The Pediatric Symptom Checklist: A tool for the assessment of psychosocial dysfunction in children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 27(6), 772–781.
Elliott, T. R., & Drummond, D. S. (2002). The use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist for identifying mental health issues in children. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 49(5), 1173–1193.
Jellinek, M. S., & Murphy, J. M. (2003). Validity and reliability of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 24(5), 374–380.
Wagner, E. F., & Pugh, R. (2004). Psychometric properties of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist: A review of the evidence. Behavioral Healthcare, 28(3), 45–56.
Weiss, K., & Jellinek, M. (2005). Using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist to screen for behavioral and emotional problems in children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 30(4), 337–343.